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Re: Best Quality Woodenware

Walter T Kelley has 3 grades of woodenware. I have not tried their cheapest. I have 8 hives from them ranging from cypress to their commercial hives. I personally believe that no one makes any better products than they do. I have had absolutley no problems. their frames hold up much better than most that I've seen. I really like their SGX frame for the plastic foundation as I use wax coated Pierco. I have other brands in used equipment that I purchased which is not as high quality as Kelleys, especially the frames.

Ditto....I have felt MLake, Dadant, BMBFarm and Kelley's.......Kellies wins, no debate, You can feel the quality of their wood during assembly, driving nails through it and you can't beat those extra heavy, slotted top bar frames with grooved bottoms for ease of use and to switch up for comb honey foundation.....

Re: Best Quality Woodenware

Michael: You're the only person I know that ever purchased, then provided feedback on woodenware from Millers. That is good to know.....didn't want to buy any woodenware without someone else's feedback first....

Re: Best Quality Woodenware

I have bought from every supplier on the list. I have to give new beekeepers a reference to start with, and the boxes of catalogs I get from these guys. We use so much teaching over 100 new beekeepers every year that I try to get from those that will wholesale or discount or direct like Pierco. I make all the woodenware except for frame ends for less than I can buy it including labor and expenses. One of my students built a computerized saw to cut the box joints and is building a computerized frame maker now.

Re: Best Quality Woodenware

[QUOTE=Michael Bush--Not only was it good woodenware, they were nice, and great people to do business with.[/QUOTE]
I agree with you Micheal. I've been getting my woodenware from Miller's for more than fifteen years. Beverly and Presley are great folks to deal with--very friendly, and their quality and prices are excellent. I'm close enough to them that I can pick up without paying for shipping. I'll be making a trip for 100 brood chambers next month.

Re: Best Quality Woodenware

Since this all seems to be a positive experience, how about anyone share a company that they've had a bad experience with.

I find Mann Lake frames to be of better quality than Kelley. I think "clearly superior" were the words I used. Part of it is that I dislike the beveled edge on one side of the end bars. Once trimmed to 1 1/4", it's not so much of a problem. Kelley wood is definitely softer.

I have noticed that some deeps have the frames placed differently in the vertical sense. What I mean is, my Mann Lake boxes have about 1/4" of space above the frames and 1/8" below for a total of 3/8" bee space. Some I have found are lower so that the whole 3/8" is at the top. It makes for boxes that can get pretty well gummed together.

Re: Best Quality Woodenware

I bought a few 8-frame deeps from Mann Lake to test for quality before committing to a bigger purchase. The opposite sides of the boxes were slightly different lengths, so I could never get them square. Also, when I stacked them they rocked, leaving a big gap on one corner--big enough for bees to get through. I kept rearranging them until I got the gaps to a tolerable level. Now, they have to stay married to one another--no reversing brood chambers. It was frustrating enough on a small scale that I decided not to get my woodenware from Mann Lake. I've had really good experiences with Miller's, so I'm sticking with them.